History NightmareFuel / BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker

-->'''Joker:''' [[FauxAffablyEvil So was I!]] ''[chuckles and waves the gun. Everyone sighs, even Bonk. [[BaitAndSwitch Then Joker shoots Joker Gas or the BANG! flag into Bonk's chest.]]]'' [[DisproportionateRetribution Oops! No, I wasn't.]]

Batman's greatest enemy has arisen from the dead for one final jeer at the Caped Crusader. And this time, he's [[CompleteMonster more depraved]] [[FromBadToWorse than before]].

-->'''Joker:''' Ah, brave new world...that has such putzes in it.

** Fortunately, Bruce is still alive, and is able to point Terry in the direction of the antidote to save him. Regardless, this doesn't make the scene look any less terrifying.

Batman's greatest enemy has arisen from the dead for one final jeer at the Caped Crusader, and this time, he's [[CompleteMonster more depraved]] [[FromBadToWorse than before]].

* First things first, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjuQT14Y0r0 the teaser trailer itself]]. A creepy, flashing red background with a [[CreepyMonotone monotone]], [[EvilSoundsDeep deep-voiced]] narrator accompanied by the occasional sound of [[HellIsThatNoise the Joker's menacing laughter]].

** What truly sets the tone of the movie is just how ''afraid'' Bruce is the whole time to the point that he is ready to call his entire partnership with Terry off just because he can't handle what Joker might do to Terry if he gets a hold of him. Not even a rogue Superman scares Bruce as much as Joker returning.
* The Joker in general in this film. In most other DCAU interpretations, especially with Mark Hamill voicing him, he's over the top, laughs a lot, and has a quirky air about him. In this movie? Joker is ''considerably'' colder, darker and more cruel than you'd expect. He laughs a ''lot'' less than he usually does. Hell, when he first shows up, he doesn't even laugh, and speaks in a low and cold tone of voice for the majority of the scene. Even the very few who weren't shaken by his appearance in ''Phantasm'' will very easily be disturbed by him. Given that Hamill's Joker is very easily characterized by how over the top and expressive he is, to hear him limiting that to a select few moments is legitimately disturbing.
* That scene where the Joker comes out of the floor at Wayne Enterprises and smiles at Bruce. Think about it this way. The nightmares that Bruce must’ve had about the Joker that’s enough to drive anybody insane because, let’s be honest, the Joker’s face alone could give you nightmares. It’s most certainly not a pretty face. In fact, it’s pretty damn terrifying when in the right circumstances.
** And that's ''before'' first-time viewers start considering the implications of the Joker's comment that nobody would know him better than "Brucie". The only way ''that'' statement makes sense is if the Joker is aware of Batman's secret identity, which raises all kinds of disturbing possibilities about how the Joker learned that particular secret... and what Batman might have been forced to do to make sure his arch-enemy didn't share it with anyone else...
* A scene, shown only in storyboards as a bonus on the DVD, shows Terry- after he's been fired as Batman- following Bruce to an abandoned Arkham Asylum. Bruce enters, slowly walking through the dark, run down remains of the infernal building, and stops, visibly unnerved, at a grisly, torn-down operating theater with some clownish decorations... (where we know all too well just what happened several decades earlier) As he painfully reminisces what happened in that ungodly hall, he looks up and freaks out at some unseen horror, storming out like a bat out of hell, barely missing Terry. Confused, Terry enters the room and, looking up, he sees a wretched ragdoll made to look like HIS batsuit, wearing a wicked painted smile, and with two -if we understand the context- utterly chilling words written on it: I KNOW. Even in its crude format, this scene's images of Arkham Asylum's silent, decaying halls and the Batman puppet are downright terrifying, doubly so when you understand this is a place where such twisted things happened that even the former Batman is scared.
** Not only does this scene work as further foreshadowing that Joker knows Bruce's identity, but it also explains why Bruce -who was in disbelief that Joker was truly back- is now urgently synthesizing the antidote to the Joker's toxin; Until then, even if he had been cautious enough to get Terry out of the Joker's way, Bruce wasn't fully convinced this Joker was the real deal, but seeing a clearly recent (as indicated by Joker's use of the current batsuit) threat placed at the site where only FIVE people knew just what had happened, it became frighteningly clear: no matter how it's even possible, this IS The Joker...and Bruce Wayne is next.
* ''Everything'' involving the flashback, possibly the most horrific, vile and terrifying thing to ever happen in the entirety of the DCAU.
** Batman and Batgirl cautiously entering the abandoned Arkham Asylum, with the echos of a woman's [[DissonantSerenity dissonantly calm]] voice singing "Hush Little Baby" all through the dark hallways. If this scene came without a prelude to hint that it was Harley who was still her usual self, it would have been very haunting.

** The way Batman just growls "I'll break you in two" at Joker. ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness You know he means it.]]''

*** The soundtrack, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OaKX9gnKVM Joker Family Portrait]]", makes it all the worse. While it starts off as a light and bouncy, if somewhat morbid, riff on '50s sitcom themes, complete with MickeyMousing, then everything stops dead with a sudden low piano chord as Tim is revealed StrappedToAnOperatingTable. As both he and Joker begin to laugh uncontrollably, the horns play a DarkReprise of the earlier "family" {{leitmotif}}. Worst of all is [[HellIsThatNoise the high, screaming electric guitar notes]], apparently created with the vibrations from a music box.

** After revealing to Batman that he knows who he really is, Joker says what may be the most sadistic, evil line ever said by ANY incarnation of the character:

** Tim himself after what Joker does to him. Everything about "Little J" is just ''wrong''; the stooped, awkward gait; [[SlasherSmile the permanent (and probably surgical) rictus grin]]; [[ThousandYardStare the psychotic wide-eyed stare]], and that '''[[HellIsThatNoise laugh]]'''! Heck, [[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/dcmovies/images/2/27/Joker_Jr..jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120617191154 just take a look for yourself]]!
** It can't be forgotten that Tim was tortured by Joker and Harley for ''three weeks'' think about that.
** Barbara is sure to note that those weeks were ''agonizing'' for them as they searched for Tim. Think about it from their perspective their respective child/litte brother is at the mercy of one of the worst criminals in all of Gotham and despite all there connections, their skills, no matter how much they tear apart the Gotham underworld to find him, they just ''can't'' because Joker has covered his tracks that good.
** Joker's MindRape of Tim is considered such a monstrous MoralEventHorizon at this point that even ''Harley Quinn'' isn't forgiven for helping him with it; she seemingly gets KilledOffForReal for it[[note]]She survived, though, partly because of Poison Ivy giving her a HealingFactor and partly because [[CreatorsFavorite one of the creators of the series favors her]][[/note]]. And despite the implication that she genuinely cared about Tim, she's still particularly terrifying this time around, especially with her cheerfully blase attitude towards what Joker did to Tim and how enthusiastic she is about trying to murder Batgirl.

** The idea that Harley genuinely wanted a family actually makes her part in the situation even more horrific if you think about it. She was perfectly willing to help Joker sacrifice an innocent boy's sanity for the sake of having a child of her own and shows no objections to it at all.
*** To a lesser extent, this flashback marked the end of Harley's chances at redemption, at least in the Bat-family's eyes. She tried so hard in the original series to go straight but couldn't kick her love for the Joker or her paranoia that the world hated her. Batman helped when he could, hearing her out and calming her down when seeing she was tortured at Arkham. After this night, it's implied Harley goes straight without the Joker's influence but never resurfaces again, knowing that Batman and Batgirl would never forgive her. There's no apology, no water under the bridge because Tim is permanently traumatized and nothing Harley can do would make up for that. LaserGuidedKarma got to her; Joker recruited her granddaughters, who were Jokerz gang members and had inherited "Nana Harley's" murderous intent.

* While it certainly doubles as a moment of awesome for him, the scene where Joker invades the Batcave and gasses Bruce is particularly nightmarish, especially the POV shot from Bruce's eyes, which now provides the "[[NightmareFace welcoming face]]" for this page.
* When Terry heads back to the Batcave after being assaulted in the nightclub, he finds the clock smashed, "HA-HA"s spray-painted all over the cave (and it's worse in the uncut version of the film; the paint is ''[[SymbolicBlood blood red]]'') and, worst of all, something you'd never expect: Bruce on the floor by the Batcomputer with a large smile on his face, apparently dead from Joker Venom.

* During the nightclub scene, after Dee-Dee separate Terry and Dana, she immediately gets grabbed by Ghoul, who then proceeds to put a hand over her mouth and during the close up, you see him lick his lips with an incredibly sadistic grin on his face, before he pulls her off to the side, and into the crowd. The whole thing reeks of sexual assault.
* One could argue the uncut version is darker, but Bonk's death in the re-edit version has him hit with Joker gas and dying of laughter as slowly as possible with his teammates looking on in fear.
** The uncut version's pretty bad. Joker pulls out his fake BangFlagGun. [[HopeSpot Bonk breathes a sight of relief.]] Then he and the audience find out it's a spear gun, and he's BlownAcrossTheRoom, dead. The other Jokerz stare at Bonk's corpse as Joker demands allegiance, before the [=DeeDee=] twins are ordered to dispose of said corpse.

** And the [[BloodFromTheMouth blood from both Joker's and Batman's mouths]] in the uncut version doesn't help either.

** The uncut version is even more terrifying: Joker tosses the [[BangFlagGun "Bang!" Flag Spear Gun]] to Tim, then pulls Batman high as his trophy and says, "Make Daddy proud. Deliver the punchline." Besides his chilling voice, Tim giggles like a maniac and, if you've seen the scene with Bonk, you know what's gonna happen: He pulls the trigger once and the "Bang!" flag pops up. When Batman tries to calm him down with "Tim...", he keeps giggling and doesn't calm down very easily, only more slowly than the edited version. The giggling seems to increase in intensity as Tim cannot actually lower the gun, ultimately pointing it back at Batman. The NightmareFuel starts getting higher and higher as Joker, the blood still on his mouth, loudly barks out, '''''"DO IT!!!"''''' with a horrible smile of triumph on his face. And the creepy music starts escalating up to eleven as Tim laughs more loudly and is about to pull the trigger as if this were the end of Batman. But once the boy finally fires the gun...the projectile doesn't hit Batman at all. Instead, it hits Joker in his chest, sending him flying across the room onto the giant building blocks. Tim couldn't actually stop himself, only having just enough willpower to aim the gun away from Batman at the last possible moment. Gasping weakly, the Joker mutters out his {{iron|y}}ic last words: "That's not funny... [-that's not...-]" The NightmareFuel finishes off with his dying gargle as he gets choked up in blood, and then his body falling lifelessly onto the floor as the projectile is driven into his chest. Truly a FamilyUnfriendlyDeath that's less scary than the edited version, but still...

--> '''Barbara''': With his last act of cruelty, the Joker had tainted us all with compromise and deception. I suppose he had the last laugh after all.
* Barbara says it took a year for Tim to regain sanity, thanks to their friend Leslie Thompkins. As we see, he was never the same regardless of the treatment.

** Worse still, it's implied that Tim's still in control when Terry first confronts him in the factory only for Joker snatch it from him. He seems to suffer a PTSD attack just beforehand, almost seeming to realize that Joker is in his head before the Clown Prince of Crime takes over again.
--->'''Tim:''' Fun and games. Boy Wonder playing the hero. Fighting the bad guys, and no one ever gets... Oh, ''God''. ''I killed him''. I didn't mean to. I tried so hard to forget, but I still hear the shot. Still see his dead smile! Every night the dreams get stronger. He's there when I sleep, whispering, '''LAUGHING''', telling me I'm just as bad as he is! ''We're both the same!''\\

'''Tim:''' ''(collects himself)'' No, I'm alright. Forgive me, Terry. Old, nasty memories twisting inside me like bad oysters. Nothing really. I'm perfectly fine now.\\

* Joker's VillainousBreakdown. Imagine, if you will, as Joker's usual demeanor is chipped away piece by piece as Terry openly mocks him to try and catch him off-guard. First, he gets snappy, which isn't so bad. Then he screams '''''"[[PretenderDiss YOU'RE NOT BATMAN!]]"''''' and completely loses it, and manages to swing a table at Terry... a little surprising. Pinning Terry down with the table, standing on top of it, yanking the mask off, and proceeding to strangle Terry, producing one of his most insane laughs ever given, sounding more and more unhinged as he speaks? Downright scary, especially when you get a POV shot from Terry's eyes for a few seconds.

* Harley finds out at the end of the movie that her granddaughters were involved with her ex. She comes under an assumed name with AngerBornOfWorry and a bit of guilt, smacking the girls and telling them off for breaking her heart. Even though they're released into her custody, Harley says she hopes the law throws the book at them at their trial. CharacterDevelopment or ParentalHypocrisy? And if ''Justice League Unlimited'' is any hint, her strict parenting didn't reform the girls.

* Some viewers of this movie might be wondering why the opening credits feel so, empty, with nothing but a black screen and flashing text. There exists a deleted version of an abandoned opening title sequence intended to play alongside the remixed opening of the Batman Beyond theme. From start to finish, this opening is NightmareFuel as credits pan across blood cells, cranial nerves and collections of dendrites and neurons. To make it worse, it also reveals a microchip forcefully inserted into a human brain complete with nanowires feeding into it. As it turns out, this is foreshadowing as [[FridgeHorror we are getting an inside look at the Joker's nanochip that was forced inside Tim Drake]] during the former's torture sequence done to brainwash him. This was likely deemed to be disturbing enough that it had to be cut altogether. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c9RauZ_1W8 It has to be seen to be believed.]][[note]]An additional reason for why this was ultimately cut is that it spoils the Joker's return and therefore makes the twist noticeably less surprising[[/note]]
* The DeletedScene in which [[https://youtu.be/u6Gy2aUxeEo Terry follows Bruce to the Joker's gravesite]] at the old Arkham building. Bruce walks through the desolated hallways, passing by the old cells that were originally occupied by some of the RoguesGallery (Poison Ivy, Two Face, and Riddler, specifically), before finally reaching the Operating Theatre. He walks up to the table we will later see "Little J" strapped to, before noticing a shadow above him. He looks up, and a horrified expression crosses his face. Just as Terry reaches the door himself, he has to quickly dive out of the way to avoid being seen by Bruce, who runs out absolutely ''terrified''. As soon as he leaves, Terry enters the Theatre himself, glancing around the room before finally looking up and seeing what Bruce saw that got him so spooked; '''the Joker's ''corpse'', hanging from the rafters, grinning down at him'''. Someone dug it up and left it there as a chilling message for Bruce. And written on the body's chest, we see that message is just two simple words: '''''I KNOW'''''.

* A scene, shown only in storyboards as a bonus on the DVD, shows Terry -after he's been fired as Batman- following Bruce to an abandoned Arkham Asylum. Bruce enters, slowly walking through the dark, run down remains of the infernal building, and stops, visibly unnerved, at a grisly, torn-down operating theater with some clownish decorations... (where we know all too well just what happened several decades earlier) As he painfully reminisces what happened in that ungodly hall, he looks up and freaks out at some unseen horror, storming out like a bat out of hell, barely missing Terry. Confused, Terry enters the room and, looking up, he sees a wretched ragdoll made to look like HIS batsuit, wearing a wicked painted smile, and with two -if we understand the context- utterly chilling words written on it: I KNOW. Even in its crude format, this scene's images of Arkham Asylum's silent, decaying halls and the Batman puppet are downright terrifying, doubly so when you understand this is a place where such twisted things happened that even the former Batman is scared.

*** Barbara's tired tone when she tells Terry they never found Harley's body, "but I doubt she would be causing trouble now". There's regret, a bit of loathing, and frustration at how the tragedy went that she knew Harley could have been a better person.

--> '''Barbara''': With his last act of cruelty, the Joker had tainted us all with compromise and deception. I guess he had the last laugh after all.